Tile cutter



1927' H. R. STRAIGHT TILE CUTTER File d Sept.

25, 1923 2 Sheets-Sheet l v H. R. STRAIGHT TILE CUTTER Fi-led Sept. 25,1923 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 r a I y w I Imewl'az'.

Patented F b,

Eli)

HALVEB R. STRAIGHT, F ABEL, IOWA.

TILE comma;

Application filed September 25, 1923. Serial No. 664,712.

This invention relates to improvements in machinery used in clay workingindustries, and particularly that type or" a machine known as a. tilecutter which is for the purpose of severing the continuously movingcolumn of plastic clay into short sections commonly known as brick ortile. Heretofore it has been the practice to place the tile machine insuch position that the continuously moving columns travel in ahorizontal plane, in which position thecolumn is severed into shortlengths to form the tile. It is necessary after the tile has been cut toplace them on a conveyor or similar device in a vertical position ratherthan in a horizontal position, for the reason that the tile go throughthe drier in better condition arranged vertically. The general practiceis to change the tile from the horizontal to the vertical positionmanually. Numerous attempts have been made to provide automaticmachinery for this purpose, as the labor involved is very excessive. Asfar as I am aware none of these ofi-bearing mechanisms have beenaltogether practical.

It is the object of my invention to provide new and improved meanswhereby this objection may be overcome by arranging the tile machine insuch position that the vertical column of plastic material will be sopositioned that it will move downwardly in a vertical. plane, andprovide means for severing the column while in the vertical positioninto tile, and provide mechanism for automatically lowering the tileonto a conveyor or receiving member beneath the said conveyor.

My invention consists in the construction, arrangement and combinationof the various parts of the device. whereby the objects contcmplated areattained. as hereinafter more Fully set forth, pointed out in my claims,and illustrated in the accompanying drawinns in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of my improved mechanism with a portion ofthe cutter carriage broken away.

Figure 2 is a detail sectional view taken on the line 2-2 ot Figure 1.

Figure 3 is adetail sectional view taken on the line 83 of Figure 1.

Figure a is a detail sectional view taken on the line 44t of Figure 1.

Figure 5 is a wiring diagram of the electrical. devices used inconnection with the nperating of my improved mechanism.

The numeral indicates the discharge end of the tile machine which ismounted in such position that a column 11 of plastic material will befed downwardly in a vertical plane. The means for supporting the tilemachine is not shown as this forms no part of my present invention, saidtile machine being of the ordinary construction.

The member 10 is provided with two vertically arranged guides 12arranged on opposite sides of said member and extended downwardly. Eachof said guides 12 is provided with an inwardly extending flange 13 toform a track for guiding what I shall term the cutter carriage 1 1. Thiscarriage comprises two side plates 15 spaced apart and connected byframe members 16, each of the side plates 15 is provided with outwardlyextending rollers 17 designed to travelon the guide members 13. Theplates 15 are spaced apart such a distance that the column of plasticmaterial 11 will freely pass between them, as clearly shown in Figure 3.

The carriage 14 is yieldably supported O by means of springs 18, theupper end of each of which is secured to the member 10, and the lowerends to cross bars 19. The said cross bars are mounted in the upper endof the plates 15. The springs 18 are of such tension as to a little morethan balance the weight of the carriage together with the mechanismwhich it carries, and toreturn the same to its upper limit of movement,the upper limit of its movement being stopped by bars 20yextendingdownwardly from the member 10.

The upper edge of each of the plates 16 is provided with a pair ofinwardly extending flanges 21 designed to form a guide for horizontallysupporting a cutter frame 22 so that the frame is free to move in saidguides in either direction. The frame 22 is clearly shown in Figures 2and 3. It will be noted that the frame 22 is tormed open and designed tosurround a column of plastic material and to have a stroke of a lengthgreater than the width of the tile.

The said frame 22 is provided with side members 23 and end members 24-.The side members travel in the tracks formed by the flanges 21. The sidemembers 28 are designed to support a. cutting wire placed midway betweentheir ends and extending from one to the other, and so arranged thatwhen the frame 22 is moved in the guides, the cutting wires 25 will bepassed through the column of plastic material, thereby severing the sameinto tile.

For moving the cutter carriage downwardly I have provided a primarysupporting plate 26 provided with upwardly extending portion 27, theupper end of which is pivoted to a shaft 28 mounted in the plates 14.The said pivot member is so mounted that the plate 26 will swing beneaththe lower end of the tile by means of a spring 29 with the plate 27against a stop pin 30 leaving the plate 26 in a horizontal positionwhere it will engage the lower end of the tile. This will cause thecutter carriage 14 to travel downwardly against the action of thesprings 18. When the carriage has moved downwardly a predetermineddistance, the plate26 will be moved from beneath the lower end of thetile by means of an electroma-gnet 31 located on one of the plates 15and in such relation with the member 27 that the said member will act asan armature and be swung outwardly toward the magnet 31, causing theplate 26 to be pulled out from under the lower end of the tile.

A plate 32 is provided for preventing the tile from following the plate26, as the plate 26 is drawn from under the tile. The tile will then becarried by a secondary supporting plate 33 slidably mounted inhorizontal guide members 34. The guide members 34 are supported by meansof a frame 35 forming a portion of a pantograph mechanism 36 whichcomprises parallel supporting arms 37, one end of each of which ispivoted to the frame and have their opposite ends pivotally connected toa rigid supporting frame 38. The free ends of the pantograph areyieldably held outwardly by means of a spring 39, one end of which issupported by the frame 38.

When the tile engages the plate 33, its weight will cause the free endof the pantograph to descend quit/e rapidly, the speed of which may beadjusted by varying the supporting point of the spring 39 relative tothe member 36. This adjustment may be accomplished by placing the lowerend of the spring 39 in one of the number of openings 40 together with aproper size spring, the adjustment being necessary to accommodate tileof different sizes and weights. The spring 39 should be of such tensionthat the tile while resting on the plate 34 will travel several. timesthe speed of the plastic column, so that the tile may be delivered tothe conveyor 41 which is arranged horizontally beneath the tile, and thevarious mechanisms returned to their original position of movement intime to catch the next tile. The conveyor 41 is usually constructedpreferably of the belt type and mounted on rollers 42 supported in themain frame 38.

Just before the plate 33 reaches the conveyor 41, it is slid frombeneath the lower end of the tile by being drawn to the right, as shownin Figure 1. An angle iron 43 serves to strip the tile from the plate,said angle being secured rigidly to the guide 34.

The plate 33 is actuated by means of an electr-omagnet 44 having aslidable core 45 provided with a link 46 which has its free endconnected to the plate 33. The pivot centers of the links 46 are inalinement with the center of the pantograph 36 when in its normalposition. The member 46 is designed to rest parallel with the members 36so that the plate 33 may be moved upwardly and downwardly withouttraveling in its guides.

The mechanism described is operated as follows:

The frame 22 is provided with a link 47, the free end of which isconnected to a crank 48 of acrank shaft 49 mounted in suitable hearingson the main frame 38. The crank 48 is mounted in a disk 50. The shaft 49is provided with one member 51 of an electro magnet clutch device andanother member 52 mounted on a motor shaft 53 of a motor 54. The shaft49 is in alinement with the shaft 53 and so arranged that as the clutchmembers 51 and 52 are magnetized, the shafts 53 and 49 will work inunison The said magnets and motors are included in an electric circuitillustrated in Figure and in which is included a generator provided withconductors 56 and 57. The conductor 56 includes a switch 58 comprising aswitch member 59 pivoted to a pin 60. The said pin 60 is mounted on theouter surface of one of the side plates 15, shown in Figure 3.

The member 59 is designed to make contact with a pin 61 supported by anangle plate 62 from the frame member 12 when the cutter carriage startsto travel downwardly. The pin 61 is provided with a conductor 63extending to the clutch member 51, while the conductor 57 is alsoconnected with the said clutch member, establishing a current throughsaid clutch and causing the shafts and 49 to operate in unison, it beingassumed that the motor 54 is running contiuuously.

The said switch 53 is shunted by a circuit comprising conductors 64 and65 and 66. The said shunt circuit includes a divided slip ring 67mounted, on the shaft 49. The slip ring is mounted on an insulating disk68 and made to make contact with a conductor 64, while the conductor 65is connected to a contact member 69.

lVhen the shaft 49 is started to rotate, the said contact 59 makesconnection with one of the slip rings 67 and establishes a circuitthrough the shunt, at which time the member 59 disengages the pin 61 asthe downward movement of the carriage continuesuse The member 59 issupported in the position shown in dotted lines and held in saidinclined position by means of a spring 70. The shaft l9 willcontinue torotate until has made one-halt revolution, at which time the contact 69disengages the slip ring (57 and rests on the insulating block betweenits ends, breaking the circuit and releasing the clutch. The crank 48havin moved onehalt revolution will cause the frame 23 to be mover. inone direction, and the wire to have passed through he column of plasticmaterial. The wire 25 rests at this point on the opposite side of thecolumn until the downward movement oi the carriage, at which time the.wire will; be dravn in the opposite direction, thus cuting loose asecond tile.

lVhen the carriage l lis moved down wardly to a point where the plate 26is slightly above the plate 33, the magnet 31. will be energized, whichis included in the circuit formed by the conductors Tl, 7 2 and (56. Theconductor 72 includes a switch 73 comprising contact members 74 and T5.

The contact 74* mounted on one of the frame members 12, and the contact75 is mounted on one of the plates 15, clearly shown in Figure 2. Thecontact- 75 is lOVL-Ztil into engagement with the member 'Z l just atthe time to cause the primary plate 26 to be pulled out from under thelower end of the tile which it supports. AS soon as the said plate hasbeen actuated, the cutter carriage will be relieved oil its weight andthe springs 18 will return it to its normal position of movement, at thesame t v easing the contacts 74 and 7 5 to disengage. The plate 26 willbe returned to its normal position of movement by means of the spring29.

lVhen the tile has been released from the plate 26 it will fall on theplate 33, causing the. free end of the pantograph mechanism to loweruntil the plate 33 is just above the conveyor Ll, at which time acontact member 76 will engage the contact member 77.

The contact- 76 is supported by the upper one ol the arms 36, while thecontact 77 is supported by the frame member 38, as clearly shown inFigure l. The contacts to and 77 are in a circuit which includesconductors 7S and 79. The conductor 78 is connected to the conductor 66and the conductor it) having included the magnet it-4Z1. The conductor79 is connected to the conductor 57.

By this arrangement it will be seen that as the contact 76 engages thecontact i7, a circuit will be established through the magnet as, causingthe plunger l5 to be moved longitudinally, and the plate 34 to be drawnout ttrom under the lower end of the tile by means of the connecting rod16, the member 43 serving to strip the tile from the plate 33. When thistakes place, the

tile will then rest on the conveyor 41 and the plate 33 will be moved toits upper limit or movement with the spring 39, breaking the cont-acts76 and 77. returned to its normal position of movement by means of aspring 80.

The fixed pivot members of the pantograph arms 36 arepreiterably placedlower than the normal position of the plate 32-3 so that as the plate 33is permitted to lower, it will be swung laterally in a direction withthe travel of the upper end of the conveyor 41. This imparts a c rtainamount of lateral forward movement to the block before the said blockengages the conveyor l1, and imparts a certain forward momentum theretoso that the block will not be upset through its inertia as it engagesthe said conveyor.

For retaining the crank 48 in its two normal positions of movementagainst any tendency toward rotation due to the weight of the connectingrod 4L7, I have provided in the The sa d plate is periphery of the disk50 two notches 81 and 82 which are designed to be engaged by i a springactuated roller 83 supported on a pivot arm 84, said arm being helddownwardl by means of a spring 85, with the roller 83 in the upper one01 the notches when the crank is in its normal position.

Thus it will be seen that l have provided a tile cutter of simple,durable and inexpensive construction which is adapted to operrapidly andefficiently, and one wiich will place the tile in an upright position onthe horizontal conveyor, and which is adapted to sever the tile from acontinuously moving vertically arranged column of plastic material, andto automatically deliver them to the said conveyor.

1 claim as my invention:

1. The combination of a tile machine arranged to deliver a continuouslymoving column of plastic material downwardly and in a vertical plane,means for severing said column into predetermined lengths as the columnis being moved downwardly, means below said tile machine for receivingsaid severed sections, a second receiving means for delivering thesevered sections to the first receiving means, the last said receivingmeans being adapted to travel downwardly at a speed higher than thespeed of the column.

2. The combination oi a tile machine ar ranged to deliver a continuouslymoving column of plastic material.downwardly and. in a vertical plane,means for severing said lllo column into predetermined lengths as thecolumn is being moved downwardly, means below said tile machine forreceiving said severed sections, a second receiving means for deliveringthe severed sections to the first receiving means, thelast saidreceiving means being adapted to travel downwardly l all.

at'a speed higher than the speed of the column, and means for varyingthe downward speed of the last said receiving means.

3. In combination, a receiving conveyor, a tile machine located abovesaid conveyor and capable of discharging a continuously moving column ofplastic material downwardly and in alinement above said conveyor, meansinterposed for severing the said column of plastic material intopredetermined lengths, a delivery mechanism interposed between the saidconveyor and the said tile machine for receiving the severed tile anddelivering them to the said conveyor, said delivery mechanism beingcontrolled through the movement of the severed tile.

4-. In combination, a horizontally arranged delivery conveyor, a tilemachine capable of producing a continuously and downwardly moving columnof plastic material above and in alinement with said conveyor, a cuttercarriage yieldably supported relative to said tile machine and capableof movement with said plastic column. a cutter mechanism adapted tosever the said plastic column into predetermined lengths while thecarriage is in movement, a primary supporting plate carried by saidcarriage for actuating the same, a secondary plate, means for yieldablysupporting said plate in its upper limit of movement and be neath thesaid primary supporting plate, means for releasing the said primaryplate to deliver the tile to said secondary plate, said secondary platebeing so support-ed that it will travel downwardly at a speed greaterthan the downward speed of the said primary supporting plate, and meansfor releasing the said secondary plate and delivering the tile to saidconveyor.

In combination, a horizontally arranged delivery conveyor, a tilemachine above said conveyor designed to deliver a column of plasticmaterial downwardly and toward said conveyor, said tile machine beingprovided with guide members parallel with said column, a cutter carriageslidably mounted on said guides, springs for yieldably holding thecutter carriage to its upper limit of movement, a pivoted member carriedby said carriage for carrying a supporting plate, a cutter mechanismcarried by said carriage, means for moving the carriage downwardlyagainst the action of the springs in unison with the movement of saidcolumn, means for releasing the last said means when the carriage hastraveled a predetermined distance, and means for actuating said cutteras the carriage is being moved dmvnwardly.

.6. In combination, a tile machine arranged to deliver a continuouslymoving column of plastic material downwardly in a vertical plane, areceiving conveyor below said column, means for severing the column intopredetermined lengths, or tile, a delivery mechanism for receiving thesevered tile and delivering them to said conveyor, said mechanismcomprising a pantograph mechanism designed to carry a receiving plateslidably carried by the pivoted end of said pantograph, said plate beingdesigned to slide in a horizontal plan and to be moved upwardly anddownwardly, means for yieldably holding the plate in an elevatedposition to receive tile from the said carriage, and means for movingsaid plate as it reaches its lower position of movement.

T. The combination of a tile machine arranged to deliver a continuouslymoving column of plastic material downwardly and in a vertical plane, areceiving conveyor below the delivery end of said column, means forsevering the said column into predetermined lengths to form tile as thecolumn is being moved downwardly, and means for receiving the severedtile and delivering it to said conveyor, said receiving means beingadapted to travel downwardly at a speed higher than the speed of thecolumn toward said conveyor and forwardly in a direction of the movementof said conveyor, and means for delivering the tile to said conveyorfrom said receiving means.

8. The combination of a tile machine arranged to deliver a continuouslymoving column of plastic material downwardly and in a vertical plane, areceiving conveyor below the delivery end of said column, meansfogsevering said column into predetermined lengths as the column isbeing moved downwardly, means for receiving said severed sections andactuated by the weight thereof to deliver them to said conveyor, meansfor releasing the severed sections from said receiving means when at itslower limit of movement, and spring actuated means for returning saidreceiving means to its normal position of movement.

9. The combination of a tile machine arranged to deliver a continuouslymoving column of plastic material downwardly and in a vertical plane, areceiving conveyor below the delivery end of said column, means forsevering said column into predetermined lengths as the column is beingmoved downwardly, means for receiving said severed. sections andactuated by the weight thereof to deliver them to said conveyor, meansfor releasing the severed sections from said receiving means when at itslower limit of movement, spring actuated. means for returning saidreceiving means to its normal position of movement, and means for varying the tension of said spring.

Des Moines, Iowa, July 19, 1923.

HALVER R. STRAIGHT.

